The character arc of Pedro Pascal
A life drawn by Character Arc from the public record
Born on 2 April 1975 in Santiago, Chile, to a child psychologist and a doctor. Between then and now sit a family that left the country when he was nine months old, a childhood in San Antonio and then Orange County, arts school in 1993, a Tisch degree in 1997, his mother's death in 2000 and the decision to work under her name, years of small parts and restaurant jobs he was fired from close to ten times, a friend who gave him her per diem so he could eat, a bank account down to seven dollars, a first feature in 2005, a television pilot that was not picked up, and then Oberyn Martell in 2014. The line below draws the story so far, in order.
Drag along the line to move, pinch or use the buttons to look closer. Tap the line to pluck it, or any mark for its card. Drawn from the public record of his life; the sources are at the foot of the page.
Who is Pedro Pascal?
He was fired from restaurants close to ten times. The part came at thirty nine.
His mother Veronica was a child psychologist and his father a doctor. Both were listed as enemies of the state, and the family left Chile when he was nine months old and settled in the United States. He grew up in San Antonio, Texas, until the family moved to Orange County, California, when he was eleven. He went to the Orange County School of the Arts, graduated in 1993, and then to New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, graduating in 1997.
His mother died in 2000, when he was twenty five. He began using her surname professionally after that, partly as a tribute to her and partly because people in the United States found his father's name hard to say. The name on the posters is his mother's.
Then came the long part. He worked small acting and theatre roles and waited tables to live, and by his own account he was fired often, upwards of, he did not know, maybe close to ten times. His friend Sarah Paulson gave him her per diem money so that he could have money to feed himself. At one point he had less than seven dollars in his bank account and could not afford medical care, and a residual cheque from an old television part arrived and steadied him enough to keep going.
The work was real, it just was not famous. He was a member of a New York theatre company, won two awards for a stage role in Orphans, made his feature debut in 2005, wrote a play in 2010 and directed at a New York theatre the same year. In 2011 he was cast in the pilot of a superhero series that was never picked up. He was thirty six.
In April 2014 he played Oberyn Martell in the fourth season of Game of Thrones, and a newspaper called it the real tipping point in his career. Narcos followed in 2015, Broadway in early 2019, The Mandalorian later that year, and The Last of Us in 2023, which brought him the first three Emmy nominations any Latino actor had received in a single year. He was thirty nine when the tipping point came.
The moments
Pedro Pascal's timeline.
The 1970s
Born in Santiago
Everyday. A doctor and a child psychologist, and a new baby.
The family leaves Chile
Setback, and it changed everything. Nine months old, and already in another country.
The 1980s
Texas, then California
Everyday. A second move, and a second set of strangers.
The 1990s
He graduates from arts school
Milestone, and it changed his direction. The decision, made at eighteen, to do this for a living.
A degree from Tisch
Milestone, and it changed his direction. Trained, qualified, and about to wait a very long time.
The 2000s
His mother dies
Setback, and it changed everything. He took her name and has worked under it ever since.
Waiting tables, fired often
Setback, and it changed everything. A trained actor, sacked from restaurant after restaurant.
Seven dollars in the bank
Setback, and it changed his direction. A cheque for old work arrived at the exact bottom.
A first feature film
Milestone, and it changed his direction. Thirty years old, and a first film credit.
The 2010s
He writes and directs
Milestone, and it changed his direction. If nobody will cast you, make the thing yourself.
A pilot nobody picked up
Setback. The nearly-break, at thirty six.
Keep going, or stop
Crossroads, decided.
The paths laid out: stay in it, taken, or take a steady job. Three years later he played Oberyn Martell, and a newspaper called it the real tipping point in his career.
Oberyn Martell
Milestone, and it changed everything. One season, ten episodes, and everything after it is different.
Narcos
Milestone, and it changed his direction. A lead, a narrator, and a second audience.
Broadway, in King Lear
Milestone, and it changed his direction. Twenty two years after drama school, a Broadway debut.
The Mandalorian
Milestone, and it changed everything. A part played almost entirely behind a helmet, and it made him famous.
The 2020s
The Last of Us
Milestone, and it changed everything. The best work of his life, at forty seven.
Three nominations at once
Milestone, and it changed his direction. Three nominations in one morning, after twenty years of none.
He wins for The Last of Us
Milestone, and it changed his direction. Voted for by other actors, which is the one that counts to actors.
Mister Fantastic
Milestone, and it changed his direction. Three films in a year, and one of them a franchise lead.
The name on every poster is the name of a woman who did not live to see any of it. What he set moving is a record of what almost twenty years of unglamorous work looks like from the inside, and the reminder that a career can turn in one season of one show, at thirty nine.
Your turn
Every line draws a unique story.
His is nearly twenty years of flat line before the part that made him. Yours is already further along than you think, and drawing it takes about five minutes.
Pedro Pascal: frequently asked questions
What people ask about his line.
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Where does this timeline of Pedro Pascal's life come from?
More character arcs
Lives that rhyme with his.
Sources
- Pedro Pascal, English Wikipedia biography.
- His own interviews for the restaurant jobs, the sackings, the per diem his friend gave him and the bank account under seven dollars.
- Broadcast and award records for Game of Thrones in April 2014, Narcos in August 2015, the Primetime Emmy nominations in July 2023 and the Actor Award in 2024.
- Why his family left Chile is on the page; the politics of it are not named and no position on any of it is taken here, under the rule that a Character page carries no politics.
- A serious accusation the record carries against his father is left off entirely. It is his father's matter, not his.